Voice and tone
Voice and tone are two important aspects of our brand and our content. They help us to connect with people, get our messages across and provide the right support.
Voice
Our voice is the Mind personality, expressed through words and pictures. It's consistent and distinctive. It conveys our beliefs and reflects our behaviour. Our voice is:
Real, never fake or abstract
Mental health problems happen to real people, in real settings. They are part of everyday life. So we should communicate in a way that reflects this. Using real, everyday language and believable imagery.
Personal, never cold or corporate
Mental health is rooted in personal experience. So we need to communicate less like an organisation, and more like a group of people who care passionately about our cause and everyone affected by it. As one example, we will refer less to Mind in the third person ("Mind's services") and talk more about ourselves as a team ("our talking therapies").
Compassionate, showing that we care
When people with mental health problems feel that no one understands, we need to show them that someone does. So while expertise and professionalism are important, we need to balance them with warmth and empathy.
Courageous, never shying away from difficult topics
We talk openly and freely about issues and topics that are hard to discuss. We're brave when we fight for respect for people with mental health problems. We're fearless when we campaign for change.
Tone
We have five tones in our content toolkit, all of which can be dialled up or down to fit the situation and who we're talking to. Think of these as being like our behaviour, which we adjust depending on the context. They don't change who we are, or our personality, but they do allow us to adapt.
Using our tone variants properly makes sure that we come across in an appropriate way and reinforces our messages.
Our five tones are:
- Reassuring
- Authoritative
- Encouraging
- Lighthearted
- Resolute